Captain Cook Museum Whitby

Over het museum

The museum occupies a house on Grape Lane in Whitby, built in 1688 for the Quaker shipowner John Walker. James Cook was apprenticed to Walker and lodged here when not at sea, and it is the only surviving building that can be linked to him with certainty. The house shows how a Whitby master mariner lived, as both a family home and the centre of a shipping business, and much of its original interior decoration survives.

The museum was founded in 1985 and opened to the public in 1987. In 2001-02 it expanded to include the harbourside courtyard and a cottage wing, and in 2016 it gained a room in the neighbouring building for use as an education centre. It is an independent charitable trust and an accredited museum, run by a small staff supported by about 60 volunteers and funded through admissions, shop sales and project grants.

Ground-floor rooms are furnished according to an inventory made in the early 1750s, while the upper floors follow Cook's career from Whitby and Canada to his great Pacific voyages. The collection includes original drawings and paintings by the artists who sailed with Cook, letters, models of the Whitby-built ships he used, and a full set of 738 botanical prints from the Florilegium of Sir Joseph Banks. A courtyard garden planted partly with South Sea species overlooks the harbour.

Hoogtepunten

• Grade I listed 1688 house where Cook lodged as an apprentice
• Original watercolours, drawings and portraits from Cook's voyages
• Models of the Whitby-built ships used on the voyages
• Full set of 738 prints from the Banks Florilegium
• Attic with views over the harbour
• Courtyard garden with South Sea plants

Vaste collectie

• The House on the Harbour – The restored 1688 house with ground-floor rooms furnished from an early 1750s inventory and upper floors following Cook's life and career.
• Art of the Voyages – Original watercolours, drawings and portraits made on or about Cook's voyages, including works linked to the artists William Hodges and John Webber.
• Banks Florilegium – A full set of 738 colour prints of plants collected on Cook's first voyage, based on drawings by Sydney Parkinson.

Opgericht

1985

Beheerder

Captain Cook Memorial Museum Trust (independent charitable trust)

Toegangsprijzen & kortingen

Tickets are valid on the day of issue and can be bought online. Some holiday workshops and talks are free with museum entry; a clay workshop was listed at £5.

Toegankelijkheid

• Deels rolstoeltoegankelijk
• Lift
• Aangepast toilet
• Gehandicaptenparkeerplaats
• Hulphonden welkom
• Tastmodellen / voelbare objecten: geen informatie
• Rondleidingen in gebarentaal: geen informatie
• Informatie in eenvoudige taal: geen informatie
• Audiodescriptie: geen informatie

The building is a Grade I listed house on four floors. Short ramps link the street, courtyard and ground-floor rooms. A lift from reception reaches the first floor and takes one wheelchair user and a carer at a time; a film of the upper floors and attic can be watched on the ground floor. One of two toilets is accessible. Large print guides are available. Registered assistance dogs on duty are welcome; other dogs must wait in the courtyard. Disabled parking is in Church Street car park, about 100 yards away, and a wheelchair can be set down at the loading bay at the entrance to Grape Lane. The education room has a hearing loop.

Kinderen & gezin

Erg geschikt voor kinderen & gezinnen

• Gezinsrondleidingen & workshops

Accompanied children enter free. Holiday workshops (for example on Wednesdays in the school summer and autumn holidays) are mostly free with museum entry.

Bereikbaarheid & parkeren

The museum is on the east side of the Swing Bridge over the River Esk, along Grape Lane, which is narrow and one-way. The museum advises against driving down it.

Service & horeca

• Café: niet aanwezig
• Restaurant: niet aanwezig
• Museumwinkel

No refreshments are served; the town centre has many places to eat. The reception area also works as a shop selling souvenirs, books, prints and replica instruments.

Evenementen & zaalverhuur

• Ruimtes te huur

The museum can be hired for evening events: about 80 to 90 people in the courtyard and about 50 indoors, plus a learning room for up to 30. It may also be available during the closed season. Contact the operations manager on +44 1947 601 900.

Je bezoek plannen